LIFESTYLE CHANGES

How do you feel influences how you look. A positive approach to life and good health radiate through your face and behaviour. At 50+ you may have lost your youth, but a mature appearance can be no less attractive - and is only enhanced by the wisdom gained from living.

THE WISDOM YEARS
Members of the baby-boomer generation, born after the Second World War, are now in their 50s. During their lives they have experiences radical changes in behaviour, attitudes and fashion, and many of them are more ambitious than their predecessors were at 50+. Actor Jack Nicholson at 55 said, ' Our parents' generation was ancient at our age, past it. We are more active, we take care of ourselves. We're the new old.'

For many people, being 50+ can be the best time of their lives. There is now less likelihood of becoming disabled: between 1980 and 1994 a 15 per cent drop in the level of disability was reported. Some firms are actively recruiting older workers because they find them more reliable than younger employees. In addition, increasing life expectancy is leading to greater pressure for the introduction of legislation against age discrimination

There is also now a sider choice of what to do at 50+. Finances are often less strained as children become independent and mortgages are nearly or completely paid off. More recreational and educational pursuits are available than there were for previous generations, and for many people there is a greater choice about the best age to retire.

Despite all these beneficial changes, it is not easy to shake off outdated ideas about growing old. This is partly because, at 50+, most people think back to what lfe was like for their grandparents' generation. Today many people ho are over 70 are living far more active lives than their parents did at the same age, and the majority of people in their 60s and 70s are happy, contented, active and fit. All the same , it is still common for old people to be categorized as lonely and poor. Some are, but loneliness and poverty can happen at any age.

There is also persistent belief that a midlife crisis is inevitable at 50+. In fact, such crisis are not particularly common and are far more likely to afflict people who have previously had to deal with emotional turmoil earlier in their lives. People who are naturally optimistic are less likely to undergo these crisis, but optimism can be acquired, even if it is for the first time.

Ageing And Becoming Old Are Not The Same Thing
We have no control over the passage of time. Each year we mark the day when we change the number that describes our age. In childhood, increasing age as a positive thing: birthdays marked steps towards independence, the first job, the first love affair and the first everything else.

We can truly be said to be old when life is no longer perceived as a journey into new territory. Loss of interest in living, belief that things can no longer be changed or that too much is changing, the feeling that life does not matter and that nothing exciting can ever happen again are signs of becoming old. However, they can also be signs of depression and, like any illness, this should be treated.

Even though there may be some decline in physical and mental capabilities, the people who are the least 'old' at 80+ are full of plans, and as involved as ever in whatever aspect of life interests them, whether this is socializing with friends, politics, the arts or advances in science. The goals they set themselves may have changed, but they continue to make commitments to themselves to others.

Many companies recruit older workers because they are considered more reliable than younger employees.